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A plane is a Tool for shaping Wood . Planes are used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of Lumber . Special types of planes are designed to cut Joints or Decorative Mouldings . Hand planes are generally the combination of a cutting edge, such as a sharpened metal plate, attached to a firm body, that when moved over a wood surface, take up relatively uniform shavings, by nature of the body riding on the 'high spots' in the wood, and also by providing a relatively constant angle to the cutting edge, render the planed surface very smooth. A cutter which extends below the bottom surface, or sole, of the plane slices off shavings of wood. A large, flat sole on a plane guides the cutter to remove only the highest parts of an imperfect surface, until, after several passes, the surface is flat and smooth. Hand planes are ancient, originating thousands of years ago. Early planes were made from wood with a rectangular slot or Mortise cut across the center of the body. The cutting blade or iron was held in place with a wooden wedge. The wedge was tapped into the mortise and adjusted with a small Mallet , a piece of scrap wood or with the heel of the users hand. Planes of this type have been found in excavations of old sites as well as drawings of woodworking from medieval Europe and Asia. Roman Planes found at Pompeii are largely similar to planes in use today. In fact wooden planes can still be bought from modern plane makers. As time went on, though, some people began to make plane bodies out of Cast Iron or even Bronze . Though most planes are pushed across a piece of wood, holding it with one or both hands, Japanese Plane s are pulled toward the body, not pushed away. Woodworking Machinery that perform the same function as hand planes include the Jointer and the Thicknesser or thickness planer. PARTS OF A PLANE Two styles of plane are shown with some parts labeled. The top of the image is a bench plane; the bottom is a block plane.
TYPES OF PLANES Planes are sometimes categorized as bench planes or Block Plane s. Bench planes are characterized by a cutting iron bedded with the bevel facing down, attached to a chipbreaker. Block planes are characterized by a cutting iron bedded with the bevel up, and the absence of a chipbreaker. The block plane can be held with one hand and is used for general purpose work such as taking down a knot in the wood, smoothing up small pieces, making the end of a sawed board square and smooth, etc. Different types of bench planes are designed to perform different tasks, with the name and size of the plane being defined by the use. They are designed to be used in order:
Planes may also be classified by the material of which they are constructed:
Some special types of planes include:
PLANING WITH THE GRAIN Planing Wood should result in thin shavings rising above the surface of the wood as the edge of the plan iron is pushed forward, leaving a smooth surface. But sometimes splintering occurs. This is largely a matter of cutting ''with the grain'' or ''against the grain'', respectively. The ''grain'' referred to in these phrases is the Side Grain of the piece of wood being worked. The grain direction can be determined by looking at the edge or side of the work piece. Wood fibers can be seen running out to the surface that is being planed. When the fibers meet the work surface it looks like the point of an arrow that indicates the direction. With some very figured and difficult woods the grain runs in many directions and therefore working against the grain is inevitable. A very sharp and finely set blade is required. PLANING AGAINST THE GRAIN When planing ''against the grain'', the wood fibers are lifted by the plane iron, resulting in a jagged finish, called tearout. Note that these diagrams and phrases apply to planing the wide face ( Flat Grain ) and/or long side ( Side Grain ) of a typical piece of Lumber , which is cut so its wide face is ''along the grain''. In other words, as part of the Tree , the wide face was parallel to the Pith and thus ''along'' (or parallel to) the direction of the dominant cells, or ''grain''. Because of the nature of wood, planing the End Grain of the board is physically different from planing the wide face or the long side. STANLEY PLANES One of the most successful manufacturers of planes is The Stanley Works of New Britain, Connecticut , USA . In 1843 Frederick Trent Stanley established Stanley's Bolt Manufactory in New Britain to manufacture door bolts and other hardware from wrought iron. Then in 1857 Frederick's cousin Henry Stanley followed his example and founded The Stanley Rule And Level Company of New Britain. The two companies merged in 1920 , and the Stanley Rule and Level Company became the Hand Tools Division of Stanley Works. Since 1870 Stanley has sold millions of cast iron hand planes, many based on patents purchased from Leonard Bailey of Boston , Massachusetts . Over the years Stanley purchased many other patents and entire plane manufacturing companies, and continued to improve the design of its planes through the first half of the 20th century. For descriptions of all plane models made by Stanley, see Patrick's Stanley Blood and Gore . Due to the gap created by Stanley when the discontinued so many needed plane models which are necessary for traditional woodworkers, Lie-Nielson has revived many of the old Stanley models and improved on their design and in many ways. Also, there is a company called E.C.E. planes which makes just about every conceivable plane out of wood instead of steel or bronze. SEE ALSO REFERENCES
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